BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Inkshares
Page Count: 414
Format: Paperback, Ebook
ISBN: 9781950301676
Price: $18.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
Aim for Neutrality. We Need Better Sources. Anonymity is Fundamental. Keep Developing. The editors know these principles. The editors follow them—or subvert them—every day. The editors aren’t recognized on the street, but they craft the information that is seen on nearly every internet search. Through Infopendium, the ubiquitous, crowd-sourced internet encyclopedia, the editors influence the world. Freelance journalist Morgan Wentworth, recently laid off from PopFeed News, attends the Global Infopendium Conference in New York expecting a straightforward story to help pay the rent. But the so-called “‘pendium people” are full of surprises. PhDs rub shoulders with high school students, all quoting the project’s rules and regulations like a second language. Sure, millions of people see the facts curated by these editors, but who really cares about the free encyclopedia? When a hacker attacks the conference and posts a cryptic message, it becomes clear that somebody cares. And Morgan decides to find out who. But the path through an online information war is far from clear. Foreign governments, billionaires, and a global virus threaten to sway the truth on Infopendium. And far from Morgan’s sight, in places as different as Beijing and Kansas, some of the editors have plans of their own . . .ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Harrison (stephenharrison.com) is an accomplished writer and tech lawyer. His fiction and nonfiction pieces have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, and Slate magazine. For the past five years, he has penned the column “Source Notes” about Wikipedia and the world of facts on the internet. He is based in Dallas, Texas.
TIMELY TIE-INS
October
- National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
- National Book Month – October
- Wikiconference North America (Indianapolis) – 4
- Global Media and Information Literacy Week – 24-31
- National Internet Day – 29
November
- National Novel Writing Month
- National Authors’ Day – 1
January
- Wikipedia Day – 15
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- How did you get started writing about Wikipedia?
- What drew you to Wikipedia and the people behind it as the subject for a thriller?
- How do Wikipedia pages come to be? Can anyone create one?
- Who are the people who work to ensure that Wikipedia is accurate (or at least bias-free) and how many of them are there?
- How has the rise of AI affected the way Wikipedia is used and what appears on the site?
- What are some of the topics that spark fierce debate among Wikipedia editors, and how do those debates tend to be resolved?
- In your novel, Infopendium is banned in China. How is access to Wikipedia limited in China and elsewhere?
- The story of The Editors unfolds as a pandemic emerges in China and spreads around the world. How was the actual Coronavirus pandemic chronicled on Wikipedia as it happened?
- One character in The Editors is determined to bring more diverse subject matter to Infopendium, and it causes an uproar. How does that debate unfold in Wikipedia?
PRAISE
“A strikingly relevant and compelling suspense novel. With the pace of a thriller and the heart of a drama, Harrison exposes the unseen battles fought in the digital trenches of today’s information war.”
—Taylor Lorenz, Technology Columnist, The Washington Post
“The Editors is a must-read for lovers of digital media, reporting, suspense, and inner workings of the digital world.”
–Novels Alive
“The Editors is an enthralling, ambitious and sharply observed contemporary thriller – no citation needed. Already one of the best reporters of the digital age, Harrison shows he’s just as adept at fiction. Every page draws the threads of a (world wide) web of intrigue, made taut by relevance, energy, and the author’s formidable understanding.”
—Richard Cooke, Contributing Editor, The Monthly
“Harrison has written the great HTML novel we’ve all been waiting for. The high-stakes online battles between users bring information warfare to life with verve. The Editors is essential reading for anyone interested in the nature of truth in the digital age.”
—Omer Benjakob, Disinformation and Cyber Reporter, Haaretz
“Thrillingly contemporary and shot through with charm and wit. The Editors is a compelling look at what drives people to seek and share the truth in a world increasingly alienated from its facts.”
—Joanne McNeil, Author of Wrong Way
“The Editors is refreshingly modern and instantly familiar to anyone who has worked, played, or lived online this decade. When perception is everything, the stakes for who determines our collective narrative are higher than ever. A sentiment eloquently captured by this engaging novel.”
—Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia
“Beneath the visible surface of Infopendium.org is a drama of conflicting interests and conflicted motives. Can such a global project survive when well-meaning volunteers become corrupted by their own dogmatism, fear, and greed? Harrison portrays the heretofore stranger-than-fiction world of a crowd-sourced encyclopedia in a gripping tale of global intrigue.”
—Joseph Reagle, Co-editor of Wikipedia @ 20 (MIT Press)
“There’s a new adventure on almost every page, and it’s hard to stop reading as you fall down the rabbit hole.”
—Pete Ekman, The Signpost
“Wikipedia is where facts go to live, and The Editors tells how this really happens, and what can go wrong. [A] great read.”
—Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist
“Terrific fun.”
—Steven Pruitt, #1 Wikipedia Editor by Edit Count
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99